The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have raised eyebrows by installing a £50,000 green boiler at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but fashionable eco-features are by no means a royal preserve. “Over the past five years we’ve had a significant increase in inquiries about eco-homes,” says Julie Firth, the new homes director at the estate agency Mishon Mackay in Brighton. “Buyers here tend to be more environmentally conscious than in other parts of the UK.” In the new homes market, features such as solar panels can make or break a sale, Mackay says.
Yet laying claim to the eco-crown is the family-friendly suburb of Chorlton in Manchester, with the first Passive House Enerphit Plus homes in Europe. Passive house, or PassivHaus (passivhaustrust.org.uk) is the rigorous,
